


leave me where i am (i'm only sleeping)

by hopeless_hope



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Cute, Dad!Tony, Fluff, Insomnia, Parent Tony Stark, Platonic Cuddling, Precious Peter Parker, Sleepy Cuddles, Sleepy Peter Parker, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony is a stressed dad, it's hard work parenting a spider-kid, surprisingly no angst, who even am i
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-17
Updated: 2019-04-17
Packaged: 2020-01-15 08:57:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18495628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopeless_hope/pseuds/hopeless_hope
Summary: “What’s nothing compared to aliens invading our planet?” Tony asks, walking into the room. “Do I even want to know?”Sam just smirks and points to the ceiling, laughing as he watches Tony’s face morph into one of pure disbelief as he takes in the sight of Peter laying in the middle of the ceiling, fast asleep.-Peter can't sleep. So, naturally, he paces the ceiling.





	leave me where i am (i'm only sleeping)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [losingmymindtonight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/losingmymindtonight/gifts).



> Title taken from "I'm Only Sleeping" by the Beatles.
> 
> Happy Birthday, Kat! I know I'm a day late, but my computer crashed and deleted what I had written, so then I had to rush to write this but ended up being like an hour late anyway. I can't give you a hug so I'm giving you Tony hugging Peter. Hope you like it. <3

Peter rolls over in bed for what feels like the billionth time and glances at the clock. It’s 2:37AM, and he’s exhausted. He can _feel_ how tired he is; his limbs feel heavy, the inside of his eyelids feel gritty, and his body aches with fatigue, but every time he tries to close his eyes, adrenaline shoots through his veins.

He can’t help but groan dramatically as he twists his body in a pretzel, trying to find some position that will coax his body into rest. He tips over the side of the bed, head first, and just hangs over the edge, upside down. Peter scowls into the darkness, cursing his brain for not allowing him to relax.

Eventually, he slides the rest of the way to the floor and lays on his back, trying to close his eyes again, as if the hard surface of the floor beneath him will do it for him.

Spoiler alert: it doesn’t. Peter sighs loudly and pushes himself to his feet, thinking that maybe a change in scenery is the way to go. He quietly tiptoes out of his room and into the hall, hoping that he doesn’t wake anyone up.

Luckily, when he gets to the elevator, FRIDAY has the sense not to say anything until after he’s stepped in and the doors are shut.

“A bit past your bedtime, isn’t it?” the AI quips, and Peter rolls his eyes.

“Just because Mr. Stark programmed you doesn’t mean you have to take after him,” Peter says dryly, almost positive that Tony programmed the AI specifically to give him a hard time when he’s up late.

“That _is_ how programming works, Peter,” FRIDAY responds innocently. “Where to?”

Peter briefly considers asking her to take him to the gym to work off some steam, but just the mere thought is enough to make his body protest in exhaustion. Instead, he settles with, “Communal living room, I guess. I’m sure Netflix will put me right to sleep.”

“Actually, Peter, studies show that-”

Peter groans. “Oh, for the love of - just bring me to the living room!”

FRIDAY wisely doesn’t say anything else as the elevator starts moving and deposits him on one of the lower floors. He steps out and lets out a breath of relief when he finds the place empty. With the Avengers, there’s no telling who will be up when.

Peter tiredly plops onto the couch and turns the TV on, wincing at the brightness of the screen, before bringing Netflix up. He debates on watching _Stranger Things,_ but Ned’s been dying to catch up with him, so he scrolls past to _Brooklyn 99._ But once he starts scrolling, he can’t seem to stop, tired brain being annoyingly indecisive.

When he can’t settle on a single thing to watch, he just turns the TV off altogether and flings the remote aside, before getting back to his feet and pacing the room. For once, his restless isn’t a product of fear or nightmares or any of the other plethora of issues that come with being a superhero.

He’s just… awake. His brain is firing off, not wanting to settle.

 _Okay, Peter,_ he thinks to himself as he absentmindedly walks around the room, not really paying any attention to what he’s doing or where he’s going. _Rank the elements from lowest electronegativity to highest._

_Francium._

He runs a tired hand through his hair as he walks, side-stepping a pair of shoes - probably Clint’s, since he leaves a trail of belongings everywhere he goes.

_Cesium._

Peter thinks about flipping the light switch on as he stumbles around in the dark. For some reason, his eyes just don’t want to adjust. They’re drooping tiredly, and he trips over his own feet.

_Potassium._

It’s been way too long since he’s managed to get a decent night’s sleep. Something about saving the world is just ridiculously time-consuming, on top of trying to be more consistent with his extracurriculars.

_Rubidium._

Peter doesn’t even register the moment his feet leave the floor. He stumbles for a second but doesn’t think twice about it as he rights himself and keeps pacing, trying to think of what element comes next.

 _Uh… Radium. Wait, no. Barium and_ then _Radium. And then… then…_

Peter comes to a halt, a fog settling over his mind as he closes his eyes and tries to think. His body droops, and he lets himself plop to the ground and settle face-down, cheek pressed into the soothingly cold floor.

Distantly, somewhere far in the back of his mind, he thinks that maybe the texture is a little weird, but he brushes the thought aside as his body relaxes fully. Where before Peter’s thoughts were like fast-moving atoms in a gas, now they’ve settled into nothing but a dull vibration.

As the last of the tension leaves his body and his mind stills, Peter’s only able to name one last element.

_So… Sodium…_

* * *

“What the _fuck._ ”

Sam blinks up at the ceiling, positive his eyes are deceiving him. He turns to Steve and Natasha, who are also staring at the same spot. “Am I hallucinating? Am I still asleep?”

“Definitely not asleep,” Steve confirms, scratching the back of his head. “I’ve seen a lot of weird things in my life, but this is pretty up there, not gonna lie.”

“Are you kidding me?” Natasha scoffs incredulously. “This is _nothing_ compared to aliens invading our planet.”

“What’s nothing compared to aliens invading our planet?” Tony asks, walking into the room. “Do I even want to know?”

Sam just smirks and points to the ceiling, laughing as he watches Tony’s face morph into one of pure disbelief as he takes in the sight of Peter laying in the middle of the ceiling, fast asleep.

“What the fuck?”

“That’s what I said!” Sam exclaims. “How is he even doing that? I thought he was only sticky on his hands and feet.”

Tony stares up at the kid, suddenly feeling so tired. _I should have stayed in bed,_ he thinks. “Yeah, I thought so, too.” He turns to his friends. “What should I do?”

“How would I know? He’s _your_ kid!” Sam says helpfully, and Tony glares at him.

“I’m afraid when he wakes up, he’s going to fall,” Tony says worriedly as he steps closer.

“Why don’t you try to wake him up, and we’ll be ready to catch him if he falls?” Steve suggests, and Tony tosses him a grateful look. “I’m sure sleeping up there can’t be comfortable.”

“I can’t wait to see FRIDAY’s footage of Peter falling asleep on the ceiling,” Natasha comments, positioning herself to catch the kid if he should fall. “I wonder if it was intentional.”

Tony doesn’t even seem to hear her as he looks up at the kid. “Peter? Peter! Time to wake up, bud. If you don’t like your mattress, all you had to do was tell me,” he jokes, frowning when the boy doesn’t so much as move. It’s not like he can shake his shoulder.

“You know how my Mama used to clear spiders and cobwebs from the ceiling?” Sam quips. “A broom.”

“I’m kicking you out of the Avengers, bird brain. Shut up so the genius can think,” Tony snarks, but there’s no real heat behind it. He cups his hands around his mouth and raises his voice a little. “Peter! Come on, kiddo, wake up!” he calls insistently.

Above them, Peter groans tiredly and shifts, the adults tensing in anticipation.

“That’s it, buddy, let’s get you into a real bed, yeah?” Tony coaxes loudly. He sighs in relief when Peter blinks down at him blearily.

“Mis’er Stark?” the boy slurs in confusion. “Where ‘m I?”

“You’re on the ceiling of the living room, Pete,” Tony answers patiently while Sam struggles to keep a straight face next to him.

“How’d I get here?” Peter mumbles tiredly.

“No clue, buddy,” Tony tells him. “Come on, why don’t you save me a heart attack and get down, okay?”

Peter doesn’t answer. His eyes droop shut, and Tony groans inwardly. “Peter,” he says sharply.

“‘M tired,” the kid whines, and the annoyance drains from Tony in an instant.

“I know,” he practically coos, steadfastly ignoring the look his teammates are giving him. “You can go back to sleep as soon as you’re down. I promise.”

For a second, it looks like Peter’s just going to close his eyes again and go back to sleep, but then he reluctantly pries them open and lethargically crawls to the wall before inching his way down.

Tony follows him, and as soon as Peter’s within reach, he holds his arms out and let’s the kid climb into them. He can’t help but smile fondly as Peter wraps his arms around his neck, latching onto him like an octopus.

“Tired,” Peter mumbles into his neck, and Tony lets his cheek rest against Peter’s messy curls as he walks them away from the wall.

“I know,” he repeats, catching Steve, Sam, and Natasha watching him with knowing looks. “Not a _word,”_ he mutters lowly.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Nat says in a voice that heavily implies otherwise.

Tony sighs and heads to the elevator with his precious cargo, smiling softly when Peter nuzzles into the crook of his neck more. Tony’s arms and back are, admittedly, yelling at him, but he can’t help but think it’s worth it.

When the doors open again, Tony carefully makes his way to Peter’s room, shaking his head when he sees how rumpled the sheets are, the comforter hanging half off his bed, evidence of the kid’s restlessness.

Tony delicately lowers the kid to the bed, huffing out a laugh when Peter won’t let go. He tugs at the sleepy teen’s wrists. “Come on, kiddo, you’ve gotta let go.”

Peter just tightens his arms, and for a moment, Tony is caught by just how _childlike_ Peter seems. After everything the kid’s endured, it’s easy to forget that he's just a kid. Realizing that he’s not gonna get him to budge, Tony makes a split-second decision.

After a moment of careful maneuvering, Tony manages to get both him and Peter settled on the spacious bed, tucking the blanket around the kid as his breaths even out again. Tony shakes his head and runs his fingers through the boy’s soft curls.

“Kid, what would I do without you?”

It’s not long before he, too, drifts off to sleep.

(And later, if Tony asks FRIDAY to save the video to his files… well, nobody needs to know.)

**Author's Note:**

> Not my best writing, and I read it through exactly zero (0) times, because it's 1AM and I have an 8AM whoops. I'll edit eventually. Maybe. I hope you guys, but mostly Kat, enjoyed this rare bit of fluff!
> 
> Feel free to leave a comment/kudos and let me know what you think. I also feel like I need to clarify this isn't Starker. The cuddling sometimes throws people off. It's all platonic, I promise.
> 
> As always, come yell at me on tumblr @the-great-escapism!


End file.
